A Bond of Trust Forged
by twodancingwriters
Summary: Throughout Ginny's first year, she trusts Tom Riddle, but for how long?
1. A Brand New Diary

A Bond of Trust Forged  
  
Chapter One "A Brand New Diary"  
  
8/19  
  
After the Weasleys had eaten dinner, Ginny ran up to her room to flip through her new school books for Hogwarts. The cauldron that she had bought for school and had also used to carry her books at Diagon Alley lay on her bed. She took out a book bound in leather that was entitled A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, and lifted it closer to her face, admiring it. Suddenly, she heard a thud on the floor. A book had fallen out of the one she held, so she bent down to pick it up.  
  
Ginny turned the book over, looking for any indication of who it belonged to. Finding nothing, she opened the book, and was surprised to see that it was completely empty- except for the faded name 'T. M. Riddle.' "I wonder who that is?" she mused.  
  
* Now, what can anyone possibly do with a blank book? What can I do with a blank book? * Then the answer struck her. * I can use this as a diary! * She thought excitedly.  
  
Sitting down at her desk, she searched for a quill to write with. Finding one, she put the feather to her lips and looked heavenward, pondering what to write as she began her first entry. "Hello, Diary. My name is Ginny Weasley."  
  
As soon as she had finished writing, her words disappeared and new words formed on the page. "Hello, Ginny. My name is Tom Riddle."  
  
Ginny gasped. However, she decided to see what would happen if she wrote, "How are you today, Tom?"  
  
Immediately, a response appeared. "I'm fine, thank you for asking. How did you come by my diary?"Ginny put the quill down and leaned back in her seat. * Relax, Ginny, just relax. This must be a prank or something, * she told herself. But the more she thought about it, the more she knew it wasn't. Her brothers wouldn't do something like this- they didn't know enough magic yet to charm a book like this anyway. She knew of no one else that would play such a trick.  
  
Ginny finally picked up the quill and wrote, "What are you doing in a diary, if I may ask?"  
  
"When I was sixteen, I preserved myself in this book."  
  
"Why?" asked Ginny.  
  
"It's a very long story," Tom replied evasively.  
  
"I have time," Ginny persisted.  
  
"Well," Tom said reluctantly, "I used to be a student at Hogwarts many years ago. I preserved myself as a memory in this book, hoping that someday another Hogwarts student would open it and inform me about how incredible it still is today."  
  
* That's lame even by Fred and George's standards, * Ginny thought, but she pretended to believe him and replied, "So, you preserved yourself in a diary to talk to Hogwarts students?"  
  
"Yes, if you put it that way."  
  
Ginny stared at the presently blank page and wrote, "I must admit, as fascinating as all this truly is, I'm a bit disappointed- I was hoping for a diary I could confide in." Her words disappeared as the response came back.  
  
"Ginny, dearest, you can confide in me. Your secrets are safe, I assure you."  
  
Ginny chewed her quill slowly. Something wasn't quite right here. "Tell me, Tom," she wrote, "Why did you preserve yourself in this book in the first place? Couldn't you have seen what Hogwarts was like when you grew up?"  
  
After a while, a hurriedly-penned answer came back. "Ginny, you must understand that I was only sixteen when I did this. I didn't think about the consequences."  
  
Ginny thought for a moment. Something wasn't quite right here, but she decided to save her questions for later. "So if I confide in you, how do I know that you won't betray me?"  
  
"Ginny, dearest, who would I betray you to? The only way that I can communicate with others is through this diary, and I am sure that you will not let it out of your sight if you suspect me of betrayal."  
  
"True," Ginny wrote back, "but I just don't know. How do I know that you are who you say you are? You might be You-Know-Who for all I know."  
  
"I might be," Tom agreed. "But I might not."  
  
"That's true," she replied, "I guess I can trust you."  
  
"Know that you can, Ginny. You can confide in me as I can confide in you."  
  
A smile crept across Ginny's face. Perhaps Tom could be her friend after all.  
  
A/N- The numbers at the top of the chapters are dates, by the way. 


	2. Ginny's Friends and Family

A Bond of Trust Forged  
  
Chapter Two- "Ginny's Friends and Family"  
  
8/20  
  
After breakfast the next morning, Ginny ran up the stairs and into her room, grabbing her new diary, a quill, and a bottle of ink. "Mum, I'm going outside to play!" She yelled as she hurried back down the stairs and out the door.  
  
"All right, Ginny dear. Make sure you're back in time for lunch!" Her mother replied.  
  
Ginny didn't answer as she walked to the cool shade underneath a tree nearby and sat down. "Let's have another chat, shall we?" She murmured under her breath. "This time though, I want some answers, Tom." Ginny dipped the quill into her ink bottle and wrote, "Hello, Tom."  
  
Soon, Tom replied, "Good morning, Ginny! How are you today?"  
  
"I'm fine, thank you. However," Ginny continued, "last night you fed me some junk about 'hearing from Hogwarts students'. I need something much more believable than that, or you will be in the the trash faster than you can say 'Wait, Ginny!' Now, tell me the truth, Tom."  
  
"The truth about what?" Tom's innocent answer came back.  
  
"The truth about why you are stuck in a diary, of course!"  
  
When no answer came back for several minutes, Ginny smiled smugly at the blank page. * I knew- * But before she got a chance to gloat further, Tom's words appeared. "Ginny, all I can really say is that the reason I preserved myself as a memory was because my life was difficult. I wasn't seriously thinking about what I was doing. If it is all right with you, I'd rather not discuss this topic. It's a bit too personal for me to share."  
  
"And?" Ginny asked.  
  
"And, what?"  
  
"Surely there must be another explanation. You can't expect me to believe that," Ginny wrote, raising her eyebrow.  
  
"Ginny, I'm telling you the truth! Why don't you believe me? Just because I'm a memory doesn't mean I'm any less worthy of your trust!" Tom wrote angrily. "If I was standing next to you, would you believe me?"  
  
Trusting by nature, Ginny instantly believed him. "I'm sorry, Tom. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."  
  
"Don't upset yourself, Ginny dearest. I just wish to not discuss it."  
  
Still feeling badly, Ginny changed the subject. "Tom, you would not believe who is staying in this house at this very moment!"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Harry Potter!"  
  
"Who is Harry Potter? I don't remember him from school," said Tom.  
  
Ginny was astonished. "Where have you been? He's the most famous wizard in the world!"  
  
"Stuck in a diary," Tom reminded her.  
  
"True," Ginny agreed. "You see, Harry defeated You-Know-Who when he was a baby."  
  
"Ah. And who is this You-Know-Who?" Tom answered.  
  
"A very strong and powerful dark wizard."  
  
"Why do you call him You-Know-Who? What was his name?" Tom said after a moment.  
  
"I don't know why. We just do. His name was- Voldemort," Ginny wrote. Despite the warm summer day, she shivered.  
  
Tom was silent for so long that Ginny became worried. "Are you all right, Tom?" she asked.  
  
"And how did a young boy like Harry manage to escape such a powerful wizard?"  
  
Ginny responded quickly. "No one really knows what happened that night. All we know is that You-Know-Who killed Harry's parents, and then tried to kill Harry, but somehow the curse rebounded on You-Know-Who and he almost died."  
  
"Where is Voldemort now?" Tom asked.  
  
"Don't say his name! Some people think he died, but most of us think he's out there somewhere."  
  
"Why can't I say his name?" Tom asked curiously.  
  
"You just can't," Ginny insisted.  
  
There was a long moment of silence between Ginny and Tom. Nervously, she changed the subject. "Do you have any siblings?" Ginny asked.  
  
"No, I don't. What about you?"  
  
"Well, my family is rather large. There's Mum and Dad, and then Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and me."  
  
"You have a very large family." Tom commented.  
  
Ginny laughed, startling a bird nearby, and wrote, "Yes, I certainly do! And with Harry here, it's even bigger!"  
  
Ginny paused. With Harry at the Burrow and a new friend in Tom, this summer had just become brighter. 


	3. The Sorting and the Howler

A Bond of Trust Forged  
  
Chapter Three- "The Sorting and the Howler"  
  
9/2  
  
After her first day of classes at Hogwarts, Ginny was excited, unhappy, and exhausted all at the same time. She ran up to the Fat Lady's portait. "Wattlebird," she panted excitedly, and as the portrait opened to let her inside the Gryffindor common room, she tried to calm herself down.  
  
Upon entering her dormitory, Ginny dug into her trunk for Tom Riddle's diary, some ink, and a quill. She debated whether or not to take the diary down to the common room or not, and finally decided it would be safer to write up here, where hopefully no one would find her. Ginny plopped down on her bed and opened the diary. "Hello again, Tom."  
  
"Hello, Ginny! How have you been?"  
  
"I'm fine. I was sorted into Gryffindor like the rest of my family."  
  
"Ah, Gryffindor. Brave, courageous souls are sorted into that House. How has your experience at Hogwarts been so far?"  
  
"Pretty good...." Ginny paused and chuckled, "Ron received a howler from our mum today..."  
  
"Oh my! Why?"  
  
Ginny giggled and explained the whole story. "Well, you see Tom, for some reason Harry and Ron couldn't get through the barrier to get onto Platform 9 ¾, so they decided to fly our car to Hogwarts instead. Naturally, they got into trouble and were almost expelled. That's why mum sent the Howler."  
  
"They seem like magnets for trouble to me," Tom responded.  
  
"Yes, they pretty much are. It's a good thing Dumbledore like them or they would already have been expelled several times."  
  
"Well, they had better be careful this year then, if they don't want to be expelled."  
  
Ginny thought that this was an odd comment. "Tom, just because I have second-hand things, does this mean I won't be able to make any friends? I haven't so far."  
  
"Of course not Ginny dearest. You just need to settle in some more, that's all. A girl as nice as you should make lots of friends. Anyone who rejects you is a total git, in my opinion."  
  
Ginny blushed, quite flattered.  
  
"That's a very nice thing of you to say, Tom, but I am rather shy, so it may be near impossible."  
  
"Nonsense, Ginny! It may be difficult at first, but it's never impossible. You befriended me quite easily, remember? I'm sure that you'll make many friends in your stay at Hogwarts. And if not, I'll always be your friend."  
  
Ginny smiled. "Well, Tom, I guess you're right. I'll always be your friend, too." 


	4. Rooster Feathers and a Petrified Cat

A Bond of Trust Forged  
  
Chapter Four- "Rooster Feathers and a Petrified Cat"  
  
10/30 and 11/1  
  
Ginny opened the diary frantically. "Dear Tom," she wrote, "I think I'm losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don't know how they got there!"  
  
"Rooster feathers?" Tom asked.  
  
"Yes! I have no idea how they got there!" Ginny scribbled into the book, panic stricken.  
  
"That is indeed a puzzle. Do you sleepwalk, or something like that that would cause you not to remember?"  
  
"Well, I did sleepwalk when I was little, but only when I was under stress," Ginny wrote back thoughtfully.  
  
"But haven't you been under stress? You did tell me the other day that you still haven't made any friends, and that your schoolwork was quite overwhelming," Tom reminded her.  
  
"Yes, I did tell you that. We do have an awful lot of homework, and I still haven't made any friends. Is something wrong with me, Tom?"  
  
"Nothing is wrong with you, Ginny. You're just a bit stressed from school. It's your first year at Hogwarts. I can assure you Ginny, these things take time to get used to. You'll be all right."  
  
"Do you really think so, Tom?"  
  
"I know so."  
  
"No one's ever understood me like you Tom. I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in, it's like having a little friend I can carry around in my pocket," Ginny said sincerely.  
  
"Thank you Ginny dearest. I'll always be here for you."  
  
Ginny smiled faintly and closed the diary. She started to pluck the feathers off her robes.  
  
* *  
*  
  
Two days later, Ginny opened the diary with shaking hands. "Dear Tom, I have no idea what's going on. I can't remember what I did the night of Halloween, but a cat was petrified and I've got paint all down my front."  
  
"That's very peculiar, Ginny. What could it be from?"  
  
"I don't know, Tom. I don't know. But, I'm scared. I have no idea what is going on. Everything is just so strange. I can't remember anything that I do at night anymore. Something has to be wrong with me. Why else would I do such strange things and not remember what I did? It's almost like some horrible dream. Oh, Tom, I am so frightened!"  
  
"It's ok, Ginny. Everything will be all right. Maybe you ate something strange last night. It could also be your stress that's causing you this. Everything will be fine eventually, Ginny. Don't worry."  
  
"But Tom, how can I not worry? What if I do something bad? What if I hurt myself? What if I hurt someone else? Oh, Tom, what is going on? I can't just give these things time. I just can't. If I wait too long, I may cause someone harm!" Teardrops fell on the pages.  
  
"Ginny, don't cry. I'm sure it will all be explained someday," Tom consoled her.  
  
"You always say that! You're not worth writing to if you don't help me with my problems!" Ginny slammed the diary shut, fuming. 


	5. A Suspecting Ginny and an Angry Tom

A Bond of Trust Forged  
  
Chapter Five- "A Suspecting Ginny and an Angry Tom"  
  
Mid-January and 2/14  
  
For a long time, Ginny did not talk to Tom. She figured that after her last entry, he might not be very keen on seeing her again. However, a couple months later, something changed.  
  
"Dear Tom, Percy keeps telling me I'm pale and I'm not myself. I think he suspects me."  
  
"What would he suspect you for?"  
  
"There was another attack today, and I don't know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I'm going mad!"  
  
"Of course you're not going mad Ginny."  
  
"Then what else can you come up with? I've got to do my homework now, good- bye."  
  
In February, Ginny opened up the diary again, almost in hysterics. "I think I'm the one attacking everyone, Tom!"  
  
"What would make you think that, Ginny? You shouldn't be thinking that!"  
  
"And why not, Tom? I can't remember what I was doing during any of the attacks, including this most recent one! And, I just found out that on the same day as I got rooster feathers on my robe, a rooster was killed! And the same day that I got paint down my front, there was a message on the wall near the first attack saying, 'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware.' Written in the same type and color of paint on my robes!"  
  
"Ginny."  
  
"No, Tom, I won't listen to you! You've been pacifying me all along, saying I'm a perfect little angel, and I'm not! I think that YOU are the one telling me to do all these things!"  
  
Ginny ran with the diary towards the closest bathroom and into one of the stalls. She threw the book into a toilet and flushed the book down. Terrified of being seen, she ran out of the bathroom and through Hogwarts and finally collasped on the grounds, sobbing.  
  
Twenty days later, Ginny stole into the boys' dormitory to retrieve her lost diary. This was a challenge, because the diary was now in the hands of Harry Potter.  
  
Ginny violently turned the entire dormitory upside-down, trying to find her precious diary. "Where is it? Where is it?" she asked no one under her breath.  
  
With tears of frustration in her eyes, she turned around to observe the mass she had made. A small feeling of guilt overcame her. The entire dormitory was a wreck. Pillows, blankets, books, and other things were strewn across the room and on the floor. Some of the objects were even broken.  
  
She looked to her side, and in perfect view, there was the diary lying innocently on her floor. She gasped and snatched it up, running back to her dormitory. Ginny panted as she stumbled clumsily into her dormitory. She jumped onto her bed, and looked for her quill and ink. She began to write. "Tom! I'm so glad that I've found you!"  
  
"What? You lost me? Where was I?"  
  
"You were in the boys' dormitory. Harrry Potter had you."  
  
"What? Ginny, how could you? I am so disappointed in you!"  
  
"But, Tom, I found you. I rescued you. It took so much courage and patience, and I did it. Why aren't you happy?" Tears welled in Ginny's eyes.  
  
"Because you let me fall into the wrong hands! How could you, Ginny? You stupid girl! How could you loose me?"  
  
Ginny whimpered and gently shut the book. 


	6. The Chamber of Secrets and the Defeat of...

A Bond of Trust Forged  
  
Chapter Six- "The Chamber of Secrets and the Defeat of Tom"  
  
5/29  
  
Ginny struggled against her bonds and glared at Tom. "To think I trusted you!" she shrieked.  
  
"Well, my dear, that is how the world works. The weak are conquered by the strong. It's the survival of the fittest, Ginny." Tom laughed darkly.  
  
"No...no...this can't be..." Ginny said under her breath.  
  
"Oh yes, it certainly can be, Ginny "dearest." You should not have trusted me, but you did, and now, you are going to die- after, that is, you give me your strength."  
  
"I won't!" Ginny cried.  
  
"Oh, yes you will, Ginny "dearest."  
  
"Don't call me that!"  
  
"And how are you, little Ginny, going to stop Lord Voldemort? A little backwards, isn't it? I think that instead, I shall stop you."  
  
Ginny's lower lip began to quiver. She had never been so frightened in her life. "W-what are you going to do to me, exactly?" she asked.  
  
Tom laughed again, sending shivers down Ginny's spine.  
  
"Oh, you won't be around to find out!"  
  
That was the last thing Ginny heard before she fell into unconsciousness.  
  
* *  
* Suddenly Ginny woke up. Harry was shaking her. "Come on Ginny, let's go. We've got to tell Ron that you're all right."  
  
"Harry?"  
  
Harry unexpectedly put his arms around her. "Tom Riddle is defeated. You're safe, Ginny."  
  
Ginny shrugged him off and stood up as she began to cry.  
  
"It'll be okay Ginny, you'll see. Now come on, Ron'll be worried." Harry took her hand and led her out of the chamber towards safety. 


End file.
